


Refusal to Believe

by california_112



Category: Blake et Mortimer | Blake and Mortimer
Genre: Between the Bubbles, Book : La Malédiction des Trente Deniers | The Curse of the Thirty Denarii, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, My First Work in This Fandom, Search
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:33:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23803141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/california_112/pseuds/california_112
Summary: Without hesitation, Mortimer asked the question that had been a weight on his mind since the explosion. "Blake?"When he was met with silence, he turned to the other members of the commando team."Where's Blake?""I don't know." John Calloway replied. "No one's seen him since the explosion."-or-A more in-depth look at Mortimer's feelings after Blake goes missing in The Curse of the Thirty Pieces of Silver.SPOILERS FOR THE CURSE OF THE THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Refusal to Believe

"These two are dead. All the others are wounded, three of them seriously." the team's commander said, gently placing the young commando's body on the floor. "We have to get back to Athens right away."

Without hesitation, Mortimer asked the question that had been a weight on his mind since the explosion. "Blake?"

When he was met with silence, he turned to the other members of the commando team.

"Where's Blake?"

"I don't know." John Calloway replied. "No one's seen him since the explosion."

Mortimer's mind froze. He couldn't believe that Blake had just vanished into the ocean, not that easily.

"He must have gone under, sucked in by the whirlpool caused by the yacht's sinking." the commander said as he wrung his clothes out, voice emotionless.

Jolted into action by the words, Mortimer swung around and grabbed a mobile searchlight. "I'm going. Give me that projector." He knew he'd got the wrong word, but with his brain still trying to comprehend the apparent, he wrestled with trying to remove it from his stand. Paused in the open blister of the Catalina, he became aware of Jessie Wingo standing next to him.

"You're still a bit weak professor." she said, and Mortimer was about to say that he couldn't be talked out of it, when she surprised him with "I'll go with you."

They locked eyes, Mortimer's blind determination looking onto Jessie's calm understanding, then they pulled the raft close and climbed in. With Mortimer on the searchlight and Jessie paddling, they glided off over the inky waters, the yellow beam systematically sweeping the wreckage for the familiar blond head of hair.

Whilst at first they kept silent, not wanting to attract unnecessary attention, after a few impatient minutes, Mortimer was becoming desperate. He still couldn’t accept that Blake could be lost like this, and started calling his friend's name.

"Blake!...Blake!...Answer me, old boy, please…"

He was trying to keep his hopes up, but with every life-ring and floating plank they passed devoid of life, he knew that it became less and less likely they would find the Captain.

"It cannot be." he said, finally voicing his fears in full. "Blake can't just disappear like this, after surviving so many dangers. I refuse to believe it. Let's keep looking."

Feeling Jessie's eyes on his back, scrutinising him, Mortimer knew that he'd mostly said that to justify himself to her, not that that was really necessary. As the searchlight continued it's swaying pattern over the water, there was an unspoken agreement between them that they would not stop looking, no matter what.

From watching the swinging beam, Mortimer had fallen into a kind of nightmarish trance, but was rudely ripped from it when the throttles of the Catalina were pushed wide open, shortly before a second massive explosion shattered the night. Looking around, both searchers were just in time to see the flash at the base of the cliff die away, and heard muffled shouting from the flying boat. Then, with expressions of surprise, Mortimer and Jessie watched as the Catalina swung around and took off.

"What?...They're leaving us!?!" Jessie exclaimed, outraged and confused.

"They're just saving their lives." Mortimer replied, voice oddly flat. "They made too easy a target."

They both watched morosely as the Catalina quickly turned on a course for Athens, clearly without the intention of coming back for them.

"But what are we going to do?" Jessie asked, abandoning her paddling and moving forward, apparently having forgotten their task. "We have no weapons, no food, no money…nothing."

"We'll worry about that later, Jessie." Mortimer commanded. "The first thing we must do is find Blake. Back to rowing."

He'd been harsher than he'd meant to be, but it was a show of his loyalty to his friend. Nothing mattered until they'd found Blake, alive or-

"Heavens! There he is!!" Finally, the searchlight beam had fallen on their quarry.

Tangled in a rope and half-hanging onto a piece of driftwood, Captain Blake was floating in the water a few meters ahead of them. His lolling head, and blond hair plastered to a bruised forehead above closed eyes, told Mortimer why he hadn't answered the calls. He was clearly unconscious, and saturated clothes making his form sit low in the water, with water lapping almost to his shoulders, explained why they hadn't spotted him before.

Refocused on the situation, Jessie jumped back to paddling, whilst her impatient friend ineffectively aided the effort with his hands, pushing flotsam out of the way until they were finally alongside the piece of driftwood. With some difficulty, Mortimer and Jessie started untangling the rope, all the time keeping the Captain's head above the water. Finally, they were able to pull him into the raft properly.

"Easy… He might have broken bones." Mortimer's biggest worry now was making his friend's injuries worse, as he had no idea when they would be able to get him proper treatment.

As soon as Blake was settled in the bottom of the raft, head cushioned by the hard rubber, Mortimer started examining him. The first thing he ascertained was that his friend was still alive, and just out cold. He briefly tried to bring him back to consciousness, but with nothing to help he didn't get far. After taking his friend's pulse and checking him for injuries generally, he reported the situation to Jessie.

"Thank God, he's alive! His pulse is almost regular." he said, with more relief than he could convey. "And beside from this bruise, he doesn't seem to have any injuries." he sat back, and noticed that his hands were shaking slightly. "Take your handkerchief, soak it in salt water, and improvise a bandage for him."

With that, the professor moved to the back of the raft and watched Jessie work, now much calmer than before. They'd found Blake, and even though everything else about their situation was dire, the presence of his friend was some consolation. As Jessie finished tying the bandage and rolled Blake half onto his side to try and conserve some of his body heat, Mortimer took over the paddle and started to form a plan. Whilst his companion kept a lookout over the now-silent water, Mortimer voiced his thoughts.

"The safest way would be to get to the village by going 'round the island, and…"

"Shhhh…" Jessie interrupted, "I hear an engine."

Looking in the direction of the sound, Mortimer saw a small black dot fronted by a searchlight detach itself from the base of the cliff, and start coming in their direction.

"There they are!" he exclaimed in a whisper, abandoning the paddle. "Lie down, and let's pray they don't spot us."

Peering over the side, they watched the launch pass within meters of them, apparently without noticing the raft, and carry on across the waves.

"There are nine or ten of them, but they're too far for me to identify them." Jessie reported. "Probably von Stahl, Olrik, their stooges and their prisoners."

"Is there a woman with them?" Mortimer asked, thinking of their young Greek friend.

"I don't think so. It's hard to tell…"

"What could they have done with Eleni?" Mortimer mused. "I hope they didn't…"

"There!! Look!!"

Jessie's exclamation was mostly unnecessary, as both watched a massive dark form rise from the depths of the ocean. The searchlight from the launch played on the bow, but even without that, it was clear what it was.

"My goodness!!...A U-boat!!" Mortimer exclaimed, somewhat surprised by the apparent connections of their adversary.

"They're going aboard. One of them seems to be hurt."

"You have excellent eyesight, Jessie." Mortimer strained his eyes in the same direction. "I can't make out anything."

"You're forgetting I'm half Cheyenne, Professor." Jessie replied. "But how could this U-boat have come all the way here without being spotted?"

"The Nazis had several submarine bases in the Greek islands. Not all of them have been located yet."

Mortimer whipped around to face the speaker of the fact: Blake, who was sitting up, one elbow resting on the side of the raft, tenderly holding his head. The professor placed a careful hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Francis! How are you feeling, old boy?"

"Still a bit groggy." Blake replied, blinking slowly. "I must have hit my head on a piece of debris when I came up after diving." He thought for a second, taking in his surroundings, before adding "Where's the seaplane?"

"Gone." Mortimer replied. "When you weren't picked up with the other survivors, Jessie and I took a raft to look for you, but the Catalina took a near miss from a torpedo, and took off. It looks like they went straight back to Athens."

"Well, I'm glad the others got away. Were there heavy casualties?"

"Two dead, three seriously injured, and the rest lightly." Jessie recounted.

"Two dead." Blake repeated, staring at his hands. "I should have given warning of that torpedo sooner."

"John said you gave as much warning as you could, and you probably saved many of the others’ lives by doing that." Jessie consoled.

"Well, thank you for saving mine." Blake said meaningfully, looking at Mortimer.

"What else could I have done, old chap?" Mortimer asked, chuckling.

"Look! The submarine is diving." Jessie said.

The three of them watched as the sinister conning tower disappeared below the waves. Blake's eyes also fell on a prize. "It looks like they abandoned their motorboat without scuttling it." he observed hopefully, thinking that his pounding head wouldn't do well rowing over choppy seas.

"We could recover it." Mortimer proposed. "I must admit that the prospect of rowing for hours to reach the village doesn't appeal to me.

"What if it's another trap?" Jessie pointed out bleakly. "They could very well have rigged it to explode."

"I don't think so." The others turned to look at Blake. "Either they knew we were here and could easily have captured and eliminated us." he explained. "Or they didn't know, and therefore had no reason to set a trap."

"I have another theory, old chap…" Mortimer said, and launched into his own explanation of von Stahl's motives.

After picking up the abandoned boat and taking their own raft in tow, the group headed for the shore, and spent a surprisingly chilly night in a sheltered cove, talking about their quandary. Although his clothes were mostly dry, Blake was feeling the wind more than usual, and hoped he wouldn't become ill before the end of their mission.

As soon as it was light enough Jessie piloted the launch round the last part of the coast, and they entered the harbour. Followed all the time by the fishermen's watchful eyes, they picked a spot to moor the boat and alighted on the old stone quayside. After Mortimer's fluent classical Greek had got them to the village's café, he stepped up to discuss their situation with the café's owner. Negotiating two rooms and some clothing from her, he also asked if she had a medical kit, with the intention of checking Blake's bruised head. It was better to be safe than sorry, and some people he couldn't bear to loose.

**Author's Note:**

> uncles, yay!
> 
> So, my first Blake and Mortimer fic! I hope it's alright...and I'm going to try and do some more writing during this lockdown period. I should mention that most of this speech isn't original, and is taken from pages fourteen to twenty-one.


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